Where Ignorance Is Bliss, 'tis Folly To Be Wise: Bumiputra Follies

Hantu Laut

Today, Suria Capital Holdings Bhd proudly announced its JV with SBC Corporation Bhd to develop  Jesselton Quay to the tune of RM1.8 billion in net sale value. Both are public listed companies on the KLSE, one bumiputra dominated and the other Chinese dominated. Suria's asset base is bigger than that of SBC.The story here.

It's the same old story with most GLCs, they can't do their own things, forever will never learn the trade, or run a proper business of their own. They will always run to the Chinaman to do the business for them.

It is time that all bumiputra individuals, enterprises and GLCs grow up, learn to take risk and do their own things.

The biggest culprits are GLCs run by bumiputras who do fuck all, give everything to the Chinaman to do under JV scheme, where greater part of the profit will go to the Chinaman and the government agency landed with teeny-weeny portion of the profit.

All over the country the same stories are being repeated year after year and the bumiputras never got to learn the trade and they are happy not to, doing so mean having to do extra work.

I have seen over the years that I have been doing business here and in Peninsula Malaysia almost every GLCs over there and in Sabah with prime land in the middle of the city do JV with Chinese businessmen to develop the land that they got for nothing from the government .

For the happy Chinaman the land cost is zero and the risk is almost zero, all they have to do is provide the building plans, raise the financing, appoint the contractor and market the properties and all the costs are paid for by the project, while the so-called high calibre bumiputra management team sit on their arses and enjoy the big fat salaries and perks for doing nothing.

Is it that difficult to be a developer like the Chinaman?

All Chinese businesses had humble beginning, start from the bottom and build their way up, they don't go to college to learn to be a contractor or developer. It's a learning process that takes years through experience and exposures. Some will succeed and some will fall by the wayside, but that the risk you have to take doing business.

It is a great shame that with such prime land and a bankable proposal the bumiputras still can't undertake the project on their own.

Name it, SEDCO, SUDC, Warisan Harta Sabah and many others, there is always the indispensable Chinaman in the midst.

Maybe, the government should employ only Chinaman to head every GLCs, so all the profits can stay with the company.

It's obvious without the Chinese the economy of this country is fucked.

How To Raise A Business Owner-A Lesson For The Bumiputra

Hantu Laut

There are few successful bumiputra businessman but there are many rich bumiputras.How that can be?

The answer lies in the NEP.

The NEP makes some bumiputras rich but does not make them true businessmen let alone give them the entrepreneurial spirit.

I came from a business family.My father and three uncles have been successful businessman in their own ways, running their own separate business.Out of the four brothers, three are mere businessmen but one stands out as a true entrepreneur.You can throw him in darkest continent he will survive and raise a business.

In the past, I have commented on how the Chinese become successful in business. Most Chinese businesses had humble beginning and a steep learning curve for the owners. There is only 1 per cent chance you are gifted, most successful businessmen are nurtured, that's why the Chinese have greater chance of success in business than most bumiputras, who, unfortunately, did not have the privilege of coming from a business culture background.

Most Chinese businesses start small, hard work and grow as the owner gain more and more experience and learn new tricks in a tricky environment.

If you are a bumiputra with strong political connection but no business experience and were given RM200 million project, what would you do? You either become a rich bumiputra by selling your contract and do no business, or a failed bumiputra businessman because of no experience or a total failure because you would soon go on spending spree and lose all your windfall.

Take time to read the simple story below.There is no short-cut to success.

How to Raise a Business Owner

By BARBARA TAYLOR

On Labor Day weekend my husband and I – the only small-business owners at a gathering of family and friends – were asked repeatedly how our business was doing. We were honest and said that it’s a very difficult environment for small business right now and that we feel fortunate to be hanging in there.

One nameless relation stopped clearing the dishes and piped up with the following statement: “If it doesn’t work out, you two can just go out and get jobs like the rest of us.”

There’s one in every crowd, isn’t there?

Yet another relative at a different holiday gathering said more or less the opposite: “At least you guys are out there trying to do something, rather than expecting someone to hand you a paycheck every two weeks.”

As a small-business owner, I’ve become accustomed to encountering both points of view. But it made me wonder how I instill the latter mindset – that you can make your own way in the world and don’t necessarily need to rely on someone else to provide you with an income – in my own children.

People love to argue about whether entrepreneurs are born or made, with many feeling that success in small business is somehow genetic. My husband has five siblings. An entrepreneur raised all six kids, yet only one became a small-business owner. I had no exposure to business growing up, yet here I am on my second venture. Rather than calling it genetics, I think it has more to do with children of entrepreneurs being the beneficiaries of an early education in business.

My 6-year-old is starting to figure out how the world works, and where we all fit in. He knows that his mom and dad run a business together, but I can see that it doesn’t always add up in his mind. Other parents have jobs. They work for somebody, or sometimes one parent works and the other stays home. He doesn’t meet many kids with parents like his. I guess we’re not the norm, which is something children pick up on at a young age.

As my children get older and begin their elementary school education, I keep an eye out for where business literacy emerges as part of the curriculum. So far, I don’t see much, although the basics of personal finance – bills and coinage, and how to count them – begins in kindergarten.

In fact, I’m not sure that we have a real grooming system for raising entrepreneurs and business owners in this country. The ethos is built into our culture – you can do anything with hard work – but it seems business education doesn’t begin in earnest until you choose a major in college. The “land of opportunity” and the “American dream” are synonymous with the entrepreneurial spirit. Yet if you were to stop people on the street and ask them how to start a business, I’ll bet the common response would be something like a) get a friend or relative to loan you some money, and b) try it, see what happens and hope for the best. It’s no wonder that entrepreneurs are perceived as risk-takers and failure rates for start-ups are so dismal.

Certainly a business degree is no guarantee of success. Which brings me back to early education at home. Here are a few qualities that I try to instill in my kids – for success in both life and entrepreneurship:

1. Ability to solve problems creatively.
2. Desire to learn and expand knowledge.
3. Ability to analyze a situation and make good decisions.
4. Self-motivation and belief in your own abilities.
5. Persistence, tenacity and resilience.

I’m always listening for potential opportunities to illustrate general business principles and create awareness of the business behind everyday things. For example, we drove by a construction site the other day. My youngest pointed out the window at an excavator and said, “I want to drive one of those some day.”

“Maybe some day you’ll own a business that helps people build things,” I replied. There was silence in the back seat. I figured what I said either made no sense whatsoever, or perhaps got him thinking about the world in a different way – if only for a moment.

Barbara Taylor is co-owner of a business brokerage, Synergy Business Services, in Bentonville, Ark. Here is her guide to selling a business.

New York Times

No School Of Hard Knocks! Why The NEP Failed ?

Hantu Laut

He is as blunt as a kick in the shin.

Former premier Mahathir Mohammad never munches his words, he does not know how.Those who dislike him called him racist.

No prime minister of this nation can afford to be a racist. Mahathir is just one man who shoot straight from the hip, he has no niceties, no political correctitude.A racist but he is not.

His statement here would be very upsetting to non-Malays particularly the Chinese.Literally, Chinese do not need political power, they were already rich.Certainly, the Chinese per capita is much better than the Malays.It's not a wild guess, it's a statement of fact.The Chinese should be proud of it.

Mahathir himself, while he was in power, did not push the Malay agenda as aggressively as he is doing now.Why? Does he feel the Malays are losing their grips on political power.

Mahathir said the Malays have not attained the desired equity proportion after almost 40 years of NEP and out of which he helmed the nation for 22 years and had the best opportunity to correct the imbalance.

The greatest chance of the NEP being made successful should have been under his regime.UMNO politicians shrivelled in fear at the prospect of falling out with him.He could have hard-nosed the NEP then.Why, didn't he?

Should Mahathir shoulder greater part of the blame for failure of the NEP or are the bumiputras to blame for their indifference and lamentable attitude toward hard work that smothered the government's efforts to turn them into shrewed businessmen and corporate leaders.

We have seen how GLCs handed over to selected bumiputras had gotten into trouble because of bad management.They are not small entities but big corporations, some, have existed since colonial days.Over the years billion of ringgit of taxpayer's money have been lost to corruptions and bad management of such companies led by manufactured entrepreneurs.

GLCs under bumiputra's management have also suffered the same fate.The recent debacles in Sime Darby and Felda are big embarrassment to bumiputras and the government.

The question is why have the Malays not grown better in business? What are they lacking in? Lack of business skill and acumen may be one of them but than skill can be learned. We are either taught or learned it empirically.If Malays can become doctors,engineers, lawyers,architects and many other professions, why can't they be good businessmen?

If I remember well Mahathir was of the view that all he needs to do was to make few Malays rich who in turn will make many more Malays rich.

Obviously, Mahathir's principle of multiplier effect was a failure.There was no quantum jump in bumiputra's equity. His dreams of Malays helping Malays in the business and the corporate world did not happen. The rich Malays stay rich and the poor Malays stay poor.

The nouveu riche Malays become a class of their own, leading flatulent lifestyle with horrid distaste for the proletariat.They ride on their high horses ignoring the fact that the millions they have were not the fruits of hard labour but were the windfalls of political connections.

I have no doubt there are many hard-working honest Malays but they are the forgotten lot.

In this country it is 'who you know not what you know' and a policy with fatal consequence.The good brains left the country where their talents would be better appreciated.

Mahathir's policy of helping only few selected Malays have not brought the desired result and one that led him to coin the phrase "Melayu mudah lupa", a reflection of his frustration with failure of the Malays to achieve higher economic success.

It is simple logic which Mahathir overlooked.

If you have RM100 to distribute and you divided it into RM10 each and give it to 10 people you would have made 10 Malays happy and maybe 5 out of the 10 would have used the money wisely and succeed.If you give the RM100 only to one or two than you only make one or two Malays happy and this one failure mean total failure.

During his time Mahathir did not push the NEP as aggressively because he knew without active participation of the Chinese the country could never attain the higher growth rate that would help push his vision 2020 to reality. The Chinese are the economic engines and their big contribution to the economy is undeniable.They also hold bigger slice of the economic cake due to hard work and business prudence.Mahathir had openly admitted the Chinese larger contribution to the economy by the amount of taxes they pay.

The Chinese are mostly urban and semi-urban dwellers.Most real estates in urban and semi-urban areas are owned by Chinese and over 90 percent of retail trade and most of service industry are done by them. This is one area where the government seems to lack the will to encourage bumiputras to be actively involved in.If there are some, it is negligible.

Most wholesale and retail businesses are dominated by the Chinese. Other than the typical restaurant business that bumiputras seem to prefer they shunned other type of business in this category instead preferring the easier option, chase government contracts where the money is bigger, faster and easier to make.More often than not such contracts go back to the Chinese where Ali sat on his ass and Baba joyfully working hard to make lots more money.

Even in the remotest areas deep in the interior, where I observed during my time as a logger, it is likely to be a Chinese family running the village shop and does everything as seller, buyer and financier.

Other than selling the essential commodities the Chinese towkay would also buy local produces and gives financial aids (advances) to reliable natives to secure the products which he than export to the bigger towns and cities to another Chinese middleman.In another word the Chinese is not just mere shopkeeper but also the banker in the village.

Retail,whole selling and contracting are tedious and competitive business and these are the places where most Chinese business had its early existence before making it big.It does not make your rich overnight but it teaches you hard work and the art of doing business, of being competitive and of being able to survive the cruel business environment.This is the school of hard knocks.

Are the bumiputras willing to take up the challenge or continue to rely on their leaders for government handouts.

It is not that the Malays or bumiputras can't become good business people and are at fault, it is the Malay leaders that spoiled them, Mahathir included, resorting to quick fix solution and politics of political patronage.

As the English say "Take care of the penny and the pound will take care of itself"
A business built purely on political connections would eventually fall.

The next time you hear Ibrahim Ali cry wolf, take it with a pinch of salt.

Reprise:Where Have All The Chinese Gone?

Hantu Laut

Sakmongkol AK47 has his take on how Malay parents view education vis-a-vis the Chinese parents and the deteriorating standard of education in the country.

The most profound that I found in his article is when he says "One type of parent undertakes the task of educating his children as a personal responsibility; the other type transfers that responsibility to the state".

Most bumiputras, even the filthy rich ones, would apply for government scholarship for their children depriving off some of the less fortunate students of the opportunity.

Ask some of the well-connected, the politicans or even ministers how many of their children's overseas education were wholly financed by them.

It is most despicable that if one is rich and can afford to pay for the children higher education to rob the opportunity off poorer students who are more deserving to receive that financial assistance. Even, if you have the privilege and entitled to apply, it should be a matter of conscience that you should not.

Like Sakmongkol, I am a product of the British education system when we were still a colony and the same system continued for another 14 years or so after formation of Malaysia.

Those days, under the GCE 'O' Level, we need only take minimum of 6 or 7 subjects (if I am not mistaken) and maximum of 9.After independence and for many years the Ministry Of Education which formulate education policy think most Malaysian students have above average IQ and give them a choice of as many as up to 21 subjects to choose from.It's no mean feat, that you hear of students taking as many as 12 to 16 subjects just to put themselves high in the eligibility for scholarship.

This 100% exam-based system has its draw back and dire consequence.You get some students who are good at passing examinations but eventually turned out to be academically mediocre.

The government has recently reviewed the system and reduced the number of subjects student could take by imposing penalty, that the student pay for the subject taken beyond the maximum allowed.

It's true the Chinese put much more effort and emphasis on education and Chinese parents are prepared to make personal sacrifices in order to fulfill their children's educational needs.

A Chinese family running a hawker's stall have better chance of putting their children through university at their own cost than say their bumiputra counterpart.Not only parents, but the whole community that can afford to spare some money would donate to their schools.Wealthy Chinese would make substantial donations and contributions to Chinese schools to enhance its standard and teaching facilities.

On the other hand, the bumiputra community has lost its culture of gotong-royong, almost everything from building schools, suraus and mosques have become the responsibility of the government.Not that the government shouldn't be doing it but shouldn't there be mosques built purely from donations from the Muslim community as a mark of pride and achievement.

When the Arab,Indian and Pakistani Muslims first came to this part of the world and decided to stay they built many mosques from donations collected from the Muslim community.Even a Malay woman have built a mosque.The Hajjah Fatimah Mosque in Singapore was built by a Malay lady from Malacca married to a Bugis prince.She donated her land to build the mosque.She inherited her husband business after he died and as an astute businesswoman her business prospered that made her very wealthy.Her only daughter married Syed Ahmad Alsagoff, the son of the famous Arab trader Syed Abdul Rahman Alsagoff.The mosque is now a national monument.

The Kapitan Keling Mosque in Penang and Malacca were built by Indian Muslim traders.

Arab traders in Singapore, the Alsagoffs, the Alkaffs and the Aljunieds have all contributed generously to schools,hospitals and building of mosques and sponsoring religious events.Many Arabs and Indians Muslims are now completely assimilated and had become Malays but have lost the philanthropism

I think we bumiputras have lost our sense of direction, giving materialism the front row and the depths of our soul a back seat.The rich and filthy and their spouses and children strutting in their Birkin bags,Gucci bags and bragged about their stables of posh cars and all with money falling down from the sky.

Here's Sakmongkol's "Where have all the Chinese gone?

This Time I Agree With Lim Kit Siang

Hantu Laut

For once I agree with Lim Kit Siang on his recent posting here.This is the kind of thing that MPs should be doing instead of wasting time trying to run down their opponents.They should spend more time voicing the anomalies in Parliament and get elected members to review and amend the Constitution.

These kinds of ambiguities in the Constitution are putting spanners in Najib's 1 Malaysia.The Prime Minister should immediately look into the misalignment of the definitions of bumiputras in Sarawak under the Federal Constitution.

Unlike, Sabah state constitution which carries the definition of bumiputras under Article 41(10) the Sarawak constitution seems to be silent on the definitions depending only on the Federal constitution for its interpretation

I reproduced Article 161A(6)below.

161 6) In this Article "native" means-

❍ (a) in relation. to Sarawak, a person who is a citizen and either belongs to one of the races specified in Clause (7) as indigenous to the State or is of mixed blood deriving exclusively from those races; and

❍ (b) in relation to Sabah, a person who is a citizen, is the child or grandchild of a person of a race indigenous to Sabah, and was born (whether on or after Malaysia Day or not) either in Sabah or to a father domiciled in Sabah at the time of the birth.

Clause 7 says:

● (7) The races to be treated for the purposes of the definition of "native" in Clause (6) as indigenous to Sarawak are the Bukitans, Bisayahs, Dusuns, Sea Dayaks, Land Dayaks, Kadayans, Kalabit, Kayans, Kenyags (Including Sabups and Sipengs), Kajangs (including Sekapans,. Kejamans, Lahanans, Punans, Tanjongs dan Kanowits), Lugats, Lisums, Malays, Melanos, Muruts, Penans, Sians, Tagals, Tabuns and Ukits.

In Sarawak, it seems you are only considered bumiputra if you are offspring of native parents mentioned under Clause.7.Mixed marriages between natives and non-natives, unfortunately, don't fall into that category at all.

The blame lies squarely on Sarawak leaders and lawmakers for not taking the issue to Parliament to get the relevant article in the Federal constitution amended.

Someone should find out whether Taib Mahmud's children are bumiputras.His late wife was not a native of Sarawak, so by definition of Article 161, they should not be bumiputras.

Article 161A(6) certainly need amendment and I am sure Lim Kit Siang and his gang would support the amendment.

In Sabah the same problem occurs among Sino-Kadazan especially those with Chinese fathers and having Chinese surnames.By right they should have been bumiputras because one of the parents are natives but many have suffered the indignity of being told by West Malaysian officers that they are not bumiputras when they applied for ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputra) or bumiputra loans for those wanting to go into business and, even worse, there were those unable to inherit NT (Native Titles) land from their parents.

This is the most nonsensical and gross injustice that one can think of.... not being able to inherit what rightfully is one's inheritance because of some stupid law.

Is This Truly Our Country ? :Part II

Hantu Laut

The irony is, the certificate confirming one is a bumiputra had not escaped the covetousness of those with crooked mind. The certificate were well sought after by some Chinese businessmen who wanted to get their hands on cheap NT (Native Title) land.The racket involved paying bribes to ketua kampong(village chief) or native chief for him to swear that you were born in his kampong (village) and have known you from the day you were born.This government appointed ketua kampong would, without any shame, joyfully issue you with a Statutory Declaration confirming the lie, as long as you pay him some money.This sham became so widespread that the government had to withdraw the issuance of such certificate putting those who qualify in a dilemma.

The most serious threat to those who are truly Malaysians are the illegal immigrants that have been issued with Malaysian identity cards making them more bumiputras than the indigenous people.Some of them have been accepted as bumiputras and enjoy all the privileges of this highly sought-after status.In most major towns, Sabahans are overwhelmed by them. In some areas the ratio is so high one could feel the presence of being either in the Philippines or Indonesia.

The illegals came bringing with them their distasteful culture and disgusting social habits.In the past, before the mass migration of these aliens to this land, Sabahans need not lock the doors to their homes and cars.There may be some truth that crimes came with progress but it is even more true that crimes are the products of poverty rather than progress.The higher the rate of poverty the higher would be the crime rate.Undoubtedly, they have brought with them not only poverty but also a culture of crime.

Sabah has never had roadside stalls culture until the arrival of these illegal immigrants where rickety stalls of all shapes and sizes can be found on roadsides and on open spaces in town centre selling anything from fish,vegetables,fruits,cooked food to whatever they fancy they could sell.These stalls are dirty, unsightly,unhygienic and as illegal as the illegals themselves, most have no permit and erected the makeshift structure without proper approval from the relevant authorities.For some unknown reasons the authorities have turned a blind eye to this lawless behaviour.

Hawker's stalls have always been part of the culture and still are but there is a big difference between Sabah and the Philippines,Indonesia and Peninsula Malaysia where road side and outdoor stalls have always been part of the landscape.

In Sabah, in the past, most food stalls are found in Chinese coffee shops where they have proper running water, electricity,tables and chairs and a cleaner environment.It was not uncommon to find Malay food stall in the same coffee shop as Chinese food stall and sharing the same facilities.Such scenario can still be seen in some of the major towns in Sabah where people from different racial and religious background and varied social structure sharing the same food outlet without any social hangups and completely impervious to religious constraints.Sabah was the epitome of racial integration and religious tolerance. That's was before, things are slowly changing.

Muslims in Sabah have begun to follow their counterparts in the Peninsula in taking to more extreme views of Islamic teachings, restraining themselves from mixing freely with Malaysians of other faiths.This clique culture, mixing only with people of your own faith, is an obstacle to integration.This change of attitude was brought about by religious teachers brought over from Peninsula Malaysia. Whether it was an isolated case or a general trend among these religious teachers, a friend once told me that he was shocked when an ustaz told him Muslims are forbidden from visiting non-Muslim's house.

In Sabah there were many inter marriages among different faiths.Those who marry Muslims converted to Islam but still maintained strong link with their non-Muslim families.It is quite common to find Muslims ,Christians,Buddish and even atheists in one family brought together by marriages.Religion has never been an issue here and it is quite normal for Muslims to go to church to attend funerals or weddings of close friends or relatives.These are things that religious teachers from the Peninsula are not used to and looked upon with disdain.

For many Sabahans the fear of losing their birth rights and fear of the alien community taking over political and economic power in the future are real.There are as many aliens, if not more, as locals and one may ask whether this is truly our country or we have become refugees in our own land.

The promise to flush them out has fizzled out.It is 'All Quiet On The Sabah Front'.The future Prime Minister is now busy making new set of promises to the people of Trengganu and the Sabah politicians are back to their lairs and their seistas.